Millennium Management LLC Sells 254,561 Shares of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS)

Millennium Management LLC cut its stake in Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS - Free Report) by 71.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,144 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 254,561 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.08% of Provident Financial Services worth $1,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 805.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,968 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 3,530 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Provident Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Provident Financial Services by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,387 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 1,848 shares during the period. 71.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Provident Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of PFS traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.57. The stock had a trading volume of 558,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 731,099. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78 and a beta of 0.84. Provident Financial Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.07 and a 12 month high of $22.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.47 and a 200 day moving average of $18.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. Provident Financial Services had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 5.60%. The firm had revenue of $208.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $206.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 82.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Provident Financial Services, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Provident Financial Services's payout ratio is 86.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Provident Financial Services from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.25.

Provident Financial Services Company Profile

Provident Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products.